Chapter Text
Tamtey panted heavily as she slid on a sharp turn, frantically looking for somewhere to get out of sight. She was completely unprepared– she was without her guns, her bow and arrows were at camp as they had been left behind in the struggle, and the last enemy for her to take down was a large male Mangkwan raider.
She’d taken the humans easily. The single AMP suit was simple while she still had her bow.
But now? Now she was injured, and she only had her bare hands and a small knife. She was fucked.
She knew she should have carried more of her gear– there had been no RDA or Mangkwan patrols in the area, and she had trusted herself with just a bow for a quick hunt out by a research station. She’d just needed one yerik. Quick and easy.
There was a small cave nearby, hidden by the large roots of a stairfoot tree. If she could just get there quietly enough, take an evasive path, she might make it. Because the way her ribs felt? One of them had at least been cracked by that AMP. Not to mention when the Mangkwan had caught her off guard and slammed her into the dirt– she’d only gotten away by rolling off the ledge of an overhang and tumbling until she could run.
She would be easy prey.
She heard something closing in behind her– large, na’vi, and unnervingly graceful. He was too close. She would most likely be killed, but she could take him down with her.
“Tamtey!”
Her heart leapt into her throat at the sound– So’lek. She spun around with crazed eyes, terrified in a way she almost never was, and found him bounding up to her with a worried look on his face.
“So’lek? Where–?” She held her knife out in front of her, poised to strike, and looked around quickly to scan the area for any movement.
“He is dead,” So’lek huffed, panting as he came to a stop with his hands up and palms towards her in an appeasing gesture. “He is dead. They are gone.”
At her ragged exhale, he reached into a pouch and pulled out a dapophet pod to place into her clenched hands. She did not question him when he gently pulled the knife away from her shaking fingers.
She would never be used to fighting any of the People.
Sky people? Sky people were hard enough. All the death, all the fear around her as she took down base after base. She managed by reminding herself of their blatant disregard for life and the violence and rot that accompanied them as they bled her home dry. Of course, the good humans in her life made the screams sit more heavily on her heart than they would have had they all been some kind of foreign evil. But still… she managed.
The Mangkwan were her kin. Lost, crazed, and hidden from the light of Eywa. Fighting them– killing them terrified her. Not only could they overwhelm her far more easily than the humans, but there was also a sickening feeling that twisted up in her each time. She felt wrong.
The dapophet was bitter as she bit into it, her breaths harsh but slowing as the adrenaline high ebbed. It felt as though the ground came gently upward to meet her as she crouched on shaky legs.
She was exhausted.
“You do not have your gear.” His voice wasn’t harsh or judgemental– the statement was just that. A statement, an observation, and his face gave away nothing.
There was a beat of silence before she answered. “I do not.”
He inclined his head in silent acknowledgement. A healthy pause hung in the air after– she did not know what to say. What could she say?
“Irayo.” Quiet. Uncertain. Tamtey had gotten far too close to death for comfort– something that she was now processing more and more. What would have happened if So’lek had not come? Perhaps she could have hidden to wait out her attacker, but her scent would betray her. She would have been found.
But So’lek killed him. She was safe.
“It is unusual to see you so overwhelmed by a patrol like this.” His mouth pinched into a thin line, his jaw ticked as he clenched his teeth.
“You do not get close in a fight. Why?” Her thanks were ignored, but So’lek looked like he had something specific he wanted to say. “You have been injured in a fight before. But you–” he breathed harshly from his nose, pausing, “you looked terrified. What happened, Tamtey?”
Her heart flipped in her chest. He said her name more and more each day.
“I can’t fight.” She huffed a laugh and winced as it tugged on her still injured ribs. The dapophet had done enough work for her to forget about the injury a little too quickly. The dull ache returned.
So’lek’s brow pinched in confusion. “You can fight. You are still standing. If you could not, you would have been dead the day we met.” His head tilted adorably, and her mouth gave a treacherous twitch upward.
“I can’t fight up close, So’lek. I have never had to. Humans…” her mouth hesitated in a sardonic smile, “humans don’t count. They can’t fight back close-range.”
TAP had taught them to use weapons, not to spar. They were already afraid of a na’vi’s natural size and strength. Why make them even more dangerous?
Harding’s comment on how Mercer should have never taught them to use guns either echoed in her mind. It was almost funny.
Almost.
So’lek’s eyes shifted, softening with something like recognition, and his ears twitched downward. “You have not learned to handle yourself in battle among na’vi. Not while unarmed.”
She nodded.
“I see.” The thoughtful look on his face held something like loss… or mourning in it. What he would be mourning, she did not know. Her loss of a na’vi upbringing? The general idea of needing to kill anyone other than the sky people? He’d expressed regret and sadness at both of those things before. He cared– it was something she had always admired in him.
“You are not scolding me.” She sighed, stretching. The pain became an irritating itch as the dapophet worked through her system. A ghost of a smile graced his lips.
“No.You made a mistake.” So’lek’s eyes were so warm. She’d always thought so– even on the day she woke from cryo. Something about this na’vi warrior called to her even then. It started with his voice, then his eyes. “We all make mistakes.”
“A costly mistake to make.” Tamtey’s voice was almost a whisper.
“Not this time.” His hand reached over to rest on her forearm, and the tips of her ears grew warm. He dipped his head slightly to catch her gaze as it attempted to wander away. “You are here. Safe. That is what matters.”
Her hand instinctively reached to grasp his, and she laced their fingers together before she could overthink it.
So’lek’s eyes roamed her face. “I will teach you to fight unarmed.”
They had been skirting the line of their unspoken boundaries since she had been taken. It was confusing, and at times infuriating. The feelings she had developed for him were something she had talked herself down from over time– something that was a simple infatuation that came from his important role in her life. Or so she thought.
He had always been soft with Tamtey. All of the Sarentu, really– but especially her. It was harder to ignore now. His eyes would linger on her, he reached for her, and his eyes held more and more of that heavy look that he gave seemingly no one else. A look she didn’t dare hope to have a name for.
“I’m afraid I’ll be a poor student there, ma So’lek.”
“You never have been.” He shrugged. The lighthearted gesture eased something that had pulled tight in her chest.
Tamtey huffed a short laugh through her nose. “Alright. Fine.”
He squeezed her arm briefly before helping her to stand, and the matter was settled.
Of course there was no world in which So’lek would just forget about their little agreement. There lies her problem. It was a hot, humid, miserable day in the Clouded Forest– the usual dense fog that hung in the air stuck to her skin, and the thick weight of each breath sat heavy in her lungs.
And she was going to spar with So’lek.
“You made it. I was beginning to think you were being chicken.” His smirk was all too pleased, and the glimmer of mischief in his eye made her want to bite him. It was precious.
“I should have never taught you that.” She groaned, stomping dramatically to the open area that So’lek had designated as their training grounds. They weren’t far from a research station, and Tamtey was grateful for the relative privacy as she prepared to inevitably embarrass herself.
“And yet you did.”
She just hissed at him, and his sarcastic smile stretched into a genuine one. His fangs peeked through his lips, and she wished she was closer so that she could feel his chuckle as it tumbled through the air.
So’lek had begun wearing less RDA-influenced gear as of late, so she had become accustomed to seeing some skin that had been so thoroughly hidden in the past. Various states of nudity in general were becoming less of a shock to her system as she spent more time among her people. Skin was a fact of life– and the human modesty conditioning was slowly becoming easier to ignore.
However.
So’lek usually wore more clothing.
He’d foregone a chest piece altogether, settling instead for his usual simple waistcloth and light arm guards with a strap going over his shoulder and across his chest– likely for the bow he’d brought with him. Nothing that would poke or jab her as they sparred. She could see the long line of his shoulders, every ripple of muscle as he moved, the hard planes of his chest, scars littering his skin. It made her mouth go dry.
“Okay, okay. We have established that I am here. What now?” She felt a little over-dressed, so she took off her chest piece to leave only a simple wrap that she wore to keep it from chafing.
So’lek’s eyes stayed firmly on her face.
“Now, I want you to show me how you would attack me unarmed.” He spread his arms wide, and she arched a brow.
“Just– attack you?”
“Just attack me.”
So’lek was not a small na’vi. She knew that when going into this. However, neither was the Mangkwan that had been chasing her before– so it was trial by fire, she guessed.
She felt her face heat at the idea of just… tackling him. He stood there, staring at her, waiting for her to move. Tamtey took a steadying breath and started to circle him. His demeanor shifted only slightly– she saw his tail perk up and swing lowly with focus.
She did not truly know what she was doing, but she attempted to lead with instinct. That was how she had gotten this far. Tamtey crouched low, hoping to use So’lek’s center of gravity against him. Hesitation often meant death, and although this was a non-threatening situation, her heart raced as if she were facing the edge of a cliff with no Amay to catch her. She dove.
The world tilted as she collided with nothing but air– he was gone from the spot she’d aimed for, and her balance was thrown fully forward. She gasped, flailing for a moment, before a strong arm clamped around her waist and kept her from flying to the ground. Before she could react, he held the side of his finger against her throat, skimming across her skin for a breath.
“You are dead.” His voice was low as his breath ghosted over the back of her neck. She felt a thrill run through her, catching and swirling in her middle where his arm held her.
Her ears pinned flat and she felt heat radiating from them, blood rushing to her face. She was silent, not trusting her voice, and she was tense in the pause.
He released her and stepped back slightly. The heat of the air combined with the blaze in her cheeks made her feel feverish as she turned to face him again.
“You have to anticipate your opponent’s movements. Move quickly and confidently, but do not rush head-on.” His head was tilted slightly as he spoke, and at this distance she swore he would be able to feel heat rolling off of her. She just jerked her head in a forced nod.
“I have seen you on the offense. This time, you will defend. Are you ready?”
Ma’Eywa.
“Yeah. Sure.” She cleared her throat, and he stepped away as she took a defensive stance. His ears pointed backward, up but not pinned, and the focused swish of his tail looked like a palulukan poised to strike. She swallowed hard and shifted her feet slightly.
He moved quickly, palms out, and made to strike her. She dodged and dipped, turning on her heel to face him again. He smiled at her, and his dewy skin in the fog distracted her for a moment as her eyes slipped from his mouth to his chest and back up again. She was able to deflect the next strike, but only barely. So’lek’s arm came into contact with hers, hooking and pulling her so that she had to do a complex twist to avoid being pinned.
The momentary distraction was shaken for frustration– he had almost caught her. Tamtey gave a tiny, frustrated hiss at him as her tail flicked wildly behind her.
She had no time to process the smirk on his face before he darted to the side and pulled a leg from under her with his own, using his own momentum to deposit her onto her back and using his weight to pin her flat. She made an undignified squeak as her body was thrown down.
Tamtey was panting and dazed as she looked up at him– his body weight kept her firmly on the ground, and he held the side of his hand against her throat– just his littlest finger touching her skin.
“Dead again.” There was a small movement on his face, just a teasing quirk of his lips. Although after a moment with no response, his brow furrowed. She struggled to form a coherent thought with his body pressed against hers.
His skin was damp with fog and sweat, and his hands– she had imagined those hands on her, pressing her down in so many fantasies.
“Come,” He moved to stand, hauling her up with him. Tamtey felt unfocused and pent up with how her body sang with every touch of his skin. It was infuriating, this attraction she had to So’lek.
Tamtey had gotten bleary, confused butterflies the moment she first laid eyes on him. They had doubled once she heard him speak. Freshly out of cryo and she was a fumbling 'eve with a crush on the first man she saw. Or, at least, that is what she tried to dismiss it as. And had been succeeding at, she might add. And then he just– started acting like this. Confusing. Intimate.
“Mawey, ma Tamtey.” He spoke gently, and she realized that she had not said a single word, her ears were flat, and her tail flicked anxiously behind her. “If I expected you to best me in the first training, you would not need the training at all.”
First– ma tanhi, he wanted to do this more than once. She breathed slowly, asking the Great Mother for strength. She was able to still her frantic tail and relax her ears enough to point back rather than flatten completely, but she could not will away the heat from her face.
“I just– think I’m having an off day. I’ll be fine.” Her smile was pinched. His expression still held that concerned confusion that she hated being the cause of.
“Are you well? You seem–” he reached a hand up to place it on her forehead, and that made it worse– he needed to stop touching her for a moment so that she could catch her breath.
“I am! It– well, it’s the heat I think. It’s getting to me. But I’m fine.” She made an awkward half-cough in her throat, and tucked a stray braid behind her ear. “Let’s continue.”
He showed her how to place her feet, where to shift her weight, and movements she could try to make up for their size difference in a fight.
“You are faster than me. Smaller. Use that to your advantage.”
Just as she'd reached what felt like a breaking point, Tamtey was able to get So’lek down. She was panting heavily in the sweltering heat, and her slick skin slipped against his. His breath ghosted against her in short puffs, their faces so close as she straddled his ribs and pinned his arm, the other coming up to mimic the knife-hand gesture he’d made earlier.
“You–” she swallowed, huffing and catching her breath, “are dead.” Her body ached, her mind was cloudy, and the adrenaline from the ‘fight’ made it all too tempting to lean down and crash her lips against his. She wanted him to keep pinning her, grabbing her, pressing bruises into her with his fingers and mouth on her skin. She imagined him lifting her, maneuvering her like she weighed nothing. Tamtey felt drunk on it, bleary-eyed and blushing bright as she worked hard to ignore the heat between her legs at the thought.
“Very good,” he smiled, and she felt his voice rumble against her tewng. It was barely there, but it made what felt like static crackle up from her core. Her breath hitched at the feeling, and So’lek’s smile faltered slightly as he skimmed his eyes over her face.
He cleared his throat. “I think we have done more than enough today. You look like you need to cool off, Tamtey.” The little furrow on his brow was back.
Tamtey quickly swung her leg over him, climbing off of his chest to finally stand. No more touching– she could calm down and maybe find a quiet place to work on her little problem by herself. Her legs squeezed together at the thought, doing little to quell the ache between her thighs.
“Right, you’re right. I think the heat is getting to me today. Probably didn’t eat enough or have enough water for this weather.”
So’lek stood, and his eyes raked over her form, assessing. His mouth was slightly open, and she assumed that he wanted to say something. He looked tired– his face was a little bit pinkish, and they were both coated with a sheen of moisture. Exertion and excessive humidity had her feeling disgusting.
“You need to cool down before you try to make it back to the base. Come, you know the outlet for the Stealth River? It is not far.”
A dip in the lake sounded like pure bliss– so she sighed before nodding in agreement. He just would worry if she didn’t go, and the last thing she needed was for him to follow her after this. She needed privacy.
She couldn’t tell him the real reason she was so worked up.
They made their way to the lake, just a short walk that had them passing by the research station. She dropped off her gear there, settling it beside the little sack-chair that the humans kept. She would take her bow and knife with her, but carrying the hefty things didn’t seem practical. Plus, she wasn’t alone and the water was only just out of sight of the station. She needed to find something else to focus on– the man she was obsessing over was right next to her, so she would have to just. Keep pure thoughts.
“You have been quiet.” So’lek’s voice was soft, and it quickly shook her from her internal battles.
She sighed, smiling. “Always observant, aren’t you?”
“I try to be.” There was a lilt to his words, a familiar playfulness that she treasured each time she heard it. Tamtey knew that So’lek was fond of all the Sarentu, especially since he was now one of them. He would tease even Rasi, these days.
But with Tamtey herself? It had just been– more. Another fact that she worked very hard to ignore. But he always pushed with her, always hovered, reassured, and was on a mission to make her laugh.
“I have been quiet, I apologize. Just– a lot on my mind, I suppose.” He gave a thoughtful hum at her response, but nothing more.
They came to the water’s edge, and she began to unlace her arm guards. She didn’t look at him.
There was a long pause, and she managed to remove both arm guards and crouch to remove the ankle pieces before she looked over. He had already removed the strap across his chest and both arm guards, leaving his upper body completely bare. Tamtey stared for a moment, her fingers faltering on the laces of her ikran riding leg covers. She had never seen this much of him before.
She was so screwed.